Floods in northeast affect normal life, mercury rises in north

Floods and landslides continued to affect normal life in Mizoram and Assam while other states in the northeast were also pounded by rains even as people in north India bore the brunt of a hot sun today.

In Assam, Lakhimpur, Darrang and Hailakandi districts have been hit by floods affecting nearly 14,000 people in 39 villages there. (Reuters)

Floods and landslides continued to affect normal life in Mizoram and Assam while other states in the northeast were also pounded by rains even as people in north India bore the brunt of a hot sun today. The swollen Khawthlangtuipui river in Mizoram has submerged over 350 houses in Tlabung sub-division in Lunglei district, where eight people died after flash floods caused by heavy rainfall wrecked havoc yesterday. Disaster Management department officials estimated that over 2,000 families were affected by the floods. The whole of south Mizoram – Serchhip, Lunglei, Lawngtlai and Siaha districts and eastern Champhai district bordering Myanmar remained cut off from the rest of the country for the third day today due landslides at many places. Landslides at several places in Aizawl city prompted the state government to evacuate over 50 buildings and shift around 100 families to safer places. Around 10 buildings have submerged in the swelling waters of the Tlawng river.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has set up a high-level committee to assess the flood situation in the state. Some other North-Eastern states are also taking a stock of the situation following incessant rains since the last three days, which has triggered flash floods and landslides. In Assam, Lakhimpur, Darrang and Hailakandi districts have been hit by floods affecting nearly 14,000 people in 39 villages there. More than 2,000 people were affected due to landslides and waterlogging in Guwahati and the SDRF has evacuated about 500 people. Incessant rains over the past few days in Arunachal Pradesh have thrown life out of gear with water level of all major rivers and their tributaries rising. In Meghalaya, a Disaster Management Authority official said all districts have been alerted following a warning from the Met department about heavy rains in the state.

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“The home ministry is constantly monitoring the heavy flood situations in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and other states for necessary help,” Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has said. Hot weather conditions continued in the national capital with the mercury touching 43 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city. The Safdarjung observatory, whose recording is considered official for the city, registered a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius. Areas under Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Aayangar recorded a maximum temperature of 43.4 degrees Celsius, 41.8 degrees Celsius, 42.6 degrees Celsius and 42.8 degrees Celsius respectively. In the northern states of Punjab and Haryana maximum temperatures rose by a few notches in most parts, with Hisar being the hottest at 44.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal limit.

Ambala recorded a high of 41.3 degrees Celsius while Karnal, too, had a hot day at 42 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 42 degrees Celsius while Ludhiana and Patiala registered maximum temperatures of 40.8 degrees Celsius and 42.4 degrees Celsius respectively. In Rajasthan too, day temperatures rose by one to two degrees even as some areas witnessed spells of rain. Pilani recorded 25 mm rainfall since yesterday, Parbatsar 3 cm, Arnod, Chomu and Makrana 2 cm each, and Chittorgarh, Churu and Churu Tehsil 1 cm each. The maximum temperature in Churu was 43.8 degrees Celsius the highest in the state, followed by Ganganagar 43.5 degrees Celsius, Kota 43.1 degrees Celsius and Barmer 42.1 degrees Celsius.

Hot weather condition prevailed throughout Bihar with Gaya sizzling at 42.9 degrees Celsius, while Patna and Bhagalpur registered maximum temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius each. The Southwest monsoon has covered at least nine of Odisha’s 30 districts and was making further advances into some more parts of the state. It has been active over Telangana and brought rains in parts of Kerala, Lakshadweep, Coastal Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorm occurred is some places of Vidarbha region Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Maximum temperatures rose in eastern Madhya Pradesh while it was appreciably below normal in Vidarbha and southern Chhattisgarh. Guna in Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest maximum temperature of 45.1 degrees Celsius. In the regions where the southwest monsoon is yet to set in, day temperatures were appreciably above normal in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.